The importance of a father cannot be overemphasized. He is the superhero in a family. Fathers are always ready to take on everyday troubles for every member of the family. Just like the mother, a good father spends quality time with his family and so to honour such fathers and to celebrate the paternal bonding, a special day is observed every year as Fathers’ Day to commemorate their efforts and contributions in the society.
Fathers’ Day celebration was celebrated as the feast day of Saint Joseph, “the putative father of our Lord Jesus Christ”. No doubt, Fathers’ Day is also an occasion to honour all the fatherly figures like stepfathers, grandfathers, uncles or even big brothers. Fathers are so important that Glory Naylor remarked: “Old as she was, she still missed her Daddy sometimes”. George Herbert also said that “one father is more than a hundred school masters”, while Liam Nelson said that “it is an ongoing joy being a Dad”. All these go to show the importance of a father in the family and entire society.
Fathers have great roles to play in building the nation. Through fathers, children have access to a vast network including, grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends of the family, work, colleagues, community organizations, faith communities and even personal histories.
Fathers plan the future of their children which, in turn, affects the moral, physical, psychological, social, political, religious and developmental tone of the nation. For instance, a morally-bound family begets children who are well nurtured to conform to the dictates of the society. Such children, later in life, become the conscience of the nation and living examples to their peer groups.
Such a nation can never be morally bankrupt or revel in social vices like armed robbery, rape, kidnapping, fraudulent practices, among others, because its children have been brought up in a decent society devoid of those vices.
Nobody can tell one that a father is in a family. He is the god they see in the house, their legitimate hopes, yearnings and aspirations. He is everything to the family, mostly, the breadwinner, who caters for the needs of the family. One can, therefore, realize his role and enviable position in the family.
In a time like this, fathers are cherished and celebrated by their children at all times. It is true that, today, most families rely upon the incomes of both Mothers and Fathers. However, the fact remains that fathers should still provide the lion’s share of income. Moreover, father’s earnings are uniquely linked to many positive results for children, even when mothers’ earnings are taken into consideration.
Although, Mothers and fathers often bring different strengths and styles to their parenting roles, they also complement each other which are necessary for healthy child upbringing. Fathers play a great role in building the capacity of their children through basic education. They play a unique and crucial role in nurturing and guiding the development of their children. So, as the world marks the International Father’s Day today, the society expects that fathers should sustain their commitment to their families.
As pillars in the development of a child’s emotional well-being, fathers should be affectionate and supportive to their children and wives. They should use this occasion of the International Father’s Day to train their children in the fear of God, by setting moral tone and rules for their behavior and survival in the world.
However, after all said and done, Christian fathers should rise up to the challenges facing the society in a time when the youths are going back to idolatry in a search for quick money, without knowing the negative consequences; a time when respect for elders is squeezed and thrown into dustbins, a time when young girls go half naked on the streets in the name of fashion and time when immortality is the order of the day. May be, this is why the Archbishop, Province of the Niger and Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Reverend Alexander Ibezim carefully chose the theme for this year’s father’s day to be “the role of Christian Fathers in a contemporary society”.
HAPPY FATHERS’ DAY!
Written by EMMA NWOSU
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